Former employees have spent 18 months in hiding amid pursuit by Taliban LONDON: Almost 50 Afghan contractors who worked for the British Council, the UK’s overseas organization for cultural opportunities, are on the verge of relocating to Britain after passing security checks, The Guardian reported. The move to rescue the contractors, who were forced into hiding following the Taliban takeover, comes as part of the UK’s Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. Many former contractors of Western organizations in Afghanistan have spent the last 18 months moving between safe locations while being pursued by Taliban operatives. As well as British Council contractors, former employees of GardaWorld who protected the British Embassy in Kabul, and alumni of the Chevening scholarship, are also being targeted for the scheme. The latest move to relocate the 47 British Council contractors follows controversy over corrected claims by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Europe Leo Docherty in Parliament. Docherty claimed that about half of the total group of 190 British Council contractors had been given the “green light” to travel to the UK through Pakistan, together with 300 relatives. Of that figure, 85 contractors were classified as “very high risk,” while 90 were designated “high risk.” The UK Foreign Office later corrected Docherty’s claims in comments to The Guardian, saying that though the contractors were eligible to relocate “in principle,” there were further steps required before they could board flights to Britain. “We have started notifying eligible individuals that have passed security checks and are advising them on next steps,” a Foreign Office statement said. Conservative MP John Baron, who chairs the Parliament group on the British Council, has led a campaign to relocate the Afghan contractors. He said: “If 200 people and their families helped us — and it’s the same with GardaWorld and Chevening — then we need to reach out and help those 200. The time to put this right is now.” Baron criticised the Foreign Office’s correction of Docherty’s claims. “If it (the government) does intend to withdraw many of the minister’s assurances given to me in the debate, then it is highly unusual and extremely disappointing,” he added. UK Welcomes Refugees charity director, Neil Jameson, said: “There are many more Afghans who have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban arrived who also need rescue and sanctuary in the UK, in return for the loyalty, support, and protection for UK interests in Afghanistan that they gave for many years.”